Bad Spellers Club
by C.B. Magique
Summary: Ienzo gets a grilling when he comes home from school with an absolutely abyssmal grade for a simple spelling test, of all things. Even and Ansem are determined to get to the bottom of this, that's for sure. [4th grade(?) AU]


**So basically I'm Ienri trash. **

**And for context, this is a prompt from a tumblr blog called Zexion/Ienzo Prompts (Z.I.P) that I'm currently very fascinated with. Specifically, this is Prompt #21: Ienzo is in the 4th grade and comes home with a bad grade on a spelling test.**

**There are no bonuses but I still took more than I got.**

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"Ienzo, what's this?" Even demanded, holding up a sheet of paper with the heading 'Spelling Test #1'.

Ienzo only glanced over his shoulder and then quickly looked away, unbuttoning his school shirt and throwing it in his laundry hamper. "It appears to be a sheet of paper with schoolwork written on it," he replied peevishly, picking up his lab coat off the back of his desk chair and throwing it over his grey undershirt.

"Ienzo! Our dress code for lab safety requires you to wear a proper shirt under your coat," Even admonished before he could stop himself. Ienzo just shrugged and turned to his sleeves with a pout. They were still too long and the hem at the bottom, which had been taken up when he was smaller, had to be taken down again. Even flapped the paper. "But seriously, try to explain this to me."

Someone cleared their throat and they both turned to Ienzo's bedroom door. Ansem stood there with his hands folded behind his back and an impatient expression on his face. His mere presence cowed Ienzo and Even to straightening up, eyes widening in consternation.

"You know," the old king began, striding into the room authoritatively, "we are all waiting for you two in the labs. Is there something terribly important that's keeping you?"

"Nothing that can't wait a few hours," Ienzo answered but was drowned out at the end by Even blurting out:

"Look at this!"

He thrust the spelling test out to Ansem, who stared at it momentarily bewildered. As he absorbed what he was seeing his brow furrowed and he plucked it from Even's grasp, frowning deeply. He turned to Ienzo with that perplexed expression and the boy was suddenly gripped with a foreboding sensation like his stomach was falling out of his body.

"Well… this is certainly quite baffling," Ansem remarked, looking back and forth between the test and Ienzo. It was a twenty question spelling test (quite standard, really) and the words were nothing special. What was alarming was that all of the words were wrong except for one yet despite that one correct mark the test was scored with a big, angry zero in the top right corner and the words 'SEE ME AFTER SCHOOL' printed in messy teacher's scrawl. "Ienzo, what is your explanation for this?"

"It doesn't matter it's just a spelling test," he muttered. "All up they're only worth a total five percent of our final marks."

"Don't try to squirm out of this one," Even retorted, waggling his finger at Ienzo. "I've seen you do so much better than this! You've written _entire_ scientific reports where the only errors upon review were minor arithmetic slip-ups. You wouldn't even be in school if academic non-attendance for primary schoolers wasn't illegal." At this, he shot a dirty look at Ansem only for a split second. "How can _you_ fail a spelling test?"

"I guess I just wasn't on my game today."

"Don't sass me!"

Ansem sighed and interjected before this could escalate: "It looks like your teacher requested a meeting after school—as in, today. Shouldn't you be in attendance?"

Ienzo glared at him sourly but held his tongue firmly. Ansem narrowed his eyes. "What's also curious about this grade is that your teacher hasn't taken into account your one correct answer."

"Well, isn't she just awful," Ienzo deadpanned.

"Or perhaps you're guilty of some academic misconduct." Ansem's voice was low and measured but rumbled with a fury so palpable that Ienzo physically flinched. The king's anger had a way of evoking judgment without action and Ienzo felt the weight of it scrutinising him for having committed the gravest of sins.

All expressions fell from the boy's face and he let out a breath, long and slow. If only to stop the raw feeling of guilt inside, he finally relented. "I was caught looking at someone else's test paper by a neighbouring student and he reported me after class. I failed for cheating."

Rather than escalate, Ansem's anger subsided. He and Even looked at each other.

"How could you have gotten so many wrong answers after cheating, especially since you knew all of the right answers?" Even asked, puzzlement written all over his face in an exaggerated manner. On the other hand, Ansem's eyes softened and twinkled with amusement.

"Or perhaps he was attempting to make wrong answers for the sake of the student whose work he was viewing," he chuckled. His smile widened when, even though his expression didn't change, Ienzo's ears started turning pink. "Ah, it seems I'm right. Care to elaborate? Don't deny it now, child, it's too late for that."

Ienzo had turned away with a hasty denial on his tongue but Ansem had already beaten him to the quick. His words felt heavy as he reluctantly completed his confession: "I didn't want her to feel bad…"

"And who is 'she'?" Even said, leaning forward and grinning gleefully. Ienzo anticipated that it wouldn't be long before this information spread to the other apprentices and in the back of his mind started to compile a list of punishments for any and all future indiscretions against him over this, whether they came from Even or otherwise.

"Another girl in class; she brings flowers every day. She looked worried and I happened to find out before the test that she was sure she would fail with the worst grade in the entire class."

"You pitied her because she's a poor student? That's unlike you."

"That's not true at all!" Ienzo spat, shooting sharp glare at Even. "She's nice and she works hard but she still falls behind at most things. She was really scared about getting the lowest grade on the spelling test and looking foolish in front of everyone, so I tried to ensure that there would be a lower grade only I got caught. Next time I will be more careful now that I know that my neighbour behind me is not to be trusted."

Ansem laughed out aloud, head tipping back in his mirth. When he got a hold of himself he said to Ienzo: "I understand that you did what you thought was right and that's okay but fabricating your own results is not a proper solution, it's just deceit. What if she found out and learned of your true achievements? I'm sure that would make her feel equally terrible."

Ienzo's gaze lowered to the adults' shoes and he shoved his hands deeply into his lab coat pockets. "Perhaps you're right but it was really my best option."

"I don't think it was. A better option – if I may suggest – would be to befriend her and see if there was any way you could help her to overcome her academic challenges. As Even said, you don't have any qualms at all with the schoolwork—admittedly, the only reason I still make you attend is as a sort of mind-broadening exercise. She would surely appreciate some friendly assistance."

"But that would require Ienzo to actually talk to her," Even snickered. Ienzo shot him a dirty look, even as his ears darkened. Even would suffer horribly in the coming week.

"I'm sure you're capable of it," Ansem said warmly, discarding the test sheet on Ienzo's desk. "You should also take the opportunity to come clean to her about what you did… and explain yourself to the teacher too. In the meantime, your presence is required in my labs."

He glared at his apprentices and they quickly filed out of the room. On his way out, Ienzo got a pat on the head and looked up. Ansem smiled at him, proud of the boy's well-meaning, and ushered him down the hall.

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**Yeah, so, didn't really mention the 4th grade AU much and also unintentionally implied that in this AU Kairi is dyslexic. Your review?**


End file.
